


Babel

by BlueKhaos



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love, One Shot, Reader-Insert, Romance, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 17:04:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11994159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueKhaos/pseuds/BlueKhaos
Summary: The reader has been hearing her soulmate's voice for years. Her only problem? They don't speak the same language.





	Babel

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so happy that I have finally written a fic for my bias. It was about time lol. Enjoy!

Happiness bubbled up inside of your heart as the mischievous voice of your soulmate resounded throughout your mind. The rise and fall of his laughter brought a smile to your face as you listened to him ramble on about something that was obviously funny. You loved how mirthful his voice was and how it always seemed to raise your spirits when he tried to reach out to you, but there was one obstacle that you were currently facing.

You both spoke different languages.

There were hardly any similar words between your languages, which made communication between the two of you impossible. Even more frustrating, you couldn’t identify the language that he was speaking in and you were pretty sure he was clueless about your own language. Nonetheless, it wasn’t odd for this kind of pairing to happen where two soulmates spoke different languages.

In fact, many people were known to speak more than one language: their native languages and that of their soulmate’s. According to the experience of others, once soulmates met and were in range of each other, they acquired each other’s languages permanently. As someone had once put it, it was like syncing two devices so that both objects had the same files and programs. The only other downside to this situation was that soulmates couldn’t acquire languages that were learned after meeting one another.

Another ability that all soulmates had was being able to determine whether their soulmate was trying to communicate with them or was speaking to someone else, regardless of whether or not they understood each other’s languages. Depending on the personality of soulmates, some closed their mental links when speaking to other people, therefore soulmates didn’t have to distinguish as to who the speech was being directed to. On the other hand, some might leave their mental links open when having a conversation with anyone besides their soulmate, therefore distinguishing the direction of speech took place.

All of these abilities only made you wonder when you would meet your own soulmate. The first time you heard his voice was around the age of thirteen. Everyone heard their soulmate’s voices for the first time at different ages, so no one was surprised when you had heard yours so young. Since you had known his voice for a long time, you were deeply familiar with all the qualities of his voice and speech.

For example, your soulmate’s speech patterns were animated and loud as he pronounced unfamiliar words in his own unique way. You were sure that many might have found his voice to be slightly annoying, but for some reason, you found it endearing. Possibly because he always sounded cheerful and in his element, wherever he might be. Laughter always seem to follow behind, but it was mostly mischievous as if he was up to no good. However, there was one thing you absolutely adored about his voice: his singing.

When he sung, it echoed so clearly throughout your brain, that occasionally, you had to stop what you were doing and just listen. Some days, it was playful and random as if he was always carrying a tune in his heart. Other times, it was hypnotic and filled with such raw passion, you were left awestruck by such talent and love for music. You often thought about how he should become a professional singer because he had the ability to go far.

The thing that made you the happiest though was when his singing was directed at you. It was always softer, as if he was feeling bashful compared to his usually excitable behavior, but you didn’t complain. Once he had finished his songs for you, he would talk to you calmingly, as if he was trying to convey his thoughts and feelings to you. Although, you didn’t understand a single word he was saying, joy always settled deep down into your bones because he was trying to connect with you. You hoped he felt just as happy as when you tried to talk to him.

You tried your best to express yourself to him, but you never had anything interesting to say, not that it really mattered. Regardless, your voice seemed to settle him. His side of the mental link would become silent, signaling to you that he was listening attentively to each of your words. Even though you couldn’t understand each other and in a sense, barely knew each other, there was a feeling of closeness between the two of you and it filled you both with contentment. You had each other and that was all that mattered.

Unbeknownst to both of you, things would start taking a turn for the better.

~~~~~~

It all began when your best friend B/F/N invited you to her apartment to binge-watch some shows. She enjoyed watching all kinds of dramas, whether it was Spanish novelas, American soap operas, African soaps operas, etc. As of recently, she had grown more interested in Korean dramas. Once you both had settled down on her couch with some candy in hand, she began to play her recently bought DVD.

The show started off normal, with some background music and scene cuts of various places in a bustling city. Eventually, the scene had transitioned to a beautiful woman who you assumed would be the main character. She was sitting in a posh-looking coffee shop, sipping her coffee daintily as she typed something on her phone. Suddenly, another fashionable young woman made her way over to the main character, causing her to get up and greet her friend cheerfully.

Yes, there wasn’t anything inherently strange about this particular scene. That was until both women become engaged in a lively conversation, that caused your jaw to hang in shock. When your friend questioned your weird behavior, you responded by screaming excitedly, causing her to drop her candy in fright. Trying to calm yourself down, you explained to your best friend that you now knew what your soulmate’s native tongue was.

It was Korean.

From that day on, you tried your best to find Korean language learning books so that you could actually say something to your soulmate. Your words would now have some meaning to him, even though you knew in your heart he appreciated the language that naturally flowed from your mouth and mind. For the first time in your life, you were going to make some kind of a breakthrough, even if it was minor.

Korean was pretty hard for you to grasp, but it didn’t stop you from trying. Memorizing the alphabets of their language was simple, but pronouncing vocabulary and understanding grammar rules was quite difficult. Each time you practiced the language, you purposely closed the mental link between you and your soulmate because you didn’t want him to hear you butchering his beautiful language. At the same time, you wanted to surprise him.

Once you had gotten some of the basics down, you felt it was time to reach out to him in his language. Taking a seat on your bed, you took a deep breath as you tried to prep yourself mentally. Feeling that you were ready, you opened the link between you and your soulmate and tuned into a conversation that he was having with someone. There were a few words that you could pick up, but you still had trouble making sense of what he was talking about. Nonetheless, you did not back down and proceeded to say hello and introduced yourself in his language.

You noticed how quickly your soulmate quieted down, stopping immediately in the middle of his conversation with whoever he was speaking to. A couple seconds of silence went by, causing you to grow increasingly nervous until you heard a joyful giggle that made you flustered. A smile made its way to your lips when your felt his excitement radiate towards to you. He began to speak much softer as well as slowly as if he knew you still didn’t have a grasp on his language. He was trying to make you feel comfortable.

From what little you knew, you noticed that he was introducing himself to you as well. You believed he said his name was Baekhyun or something like Bacon. You knew for sure it wasn’t the latter, so you settled for the first name. He went on to say his age, which made you realize that you weren’t that far apart in years. Lastly, he said something like “It was nice to meet you” which made you say something similar in return.

It went quiet after that, as if you both were dwelling silently on your how well your first conversation had gone, even if it was short. Breaking the silence, Baekhyun began to sing your name playfully as if he just couldn’t keep your name out of his mouth. Your name was paired with some other unidentifiable words, but you knew they were words of affection.

And like that, your feelings for Baekhyun blossomed even more.

~~~~~~

A month had passed since your brief conversation with your soulmate. You had gotten a little better with Korean, but you still weren’t as fluent as you had hoped to be. You knew learning a language took some time, but you were so anxious to get to know Baekhyun. During this time, he was able to figure out what your native language was thanks to more exchanges. Occasionally, Baekhyun would try to talk to you in your own language, sometimes fumbling over the unfamiliar words which would leave him chuckling shyly. Nonetheless, these little conversations had helped you both to grow closer.

You both wanted to meet one another, knowing fully well that speaking to each other would go much smoother and that it would be a permanent fix to your small dilemma. Unfortunately, both of you were a little busy with your jobs since they were very demanding. You knew that he traveled a lot, but you weren’t quite sure as to what he did for a living. Still, you would remain patient and ask him once you both had the chance to meet and get to know each other better.  

Deciding that it would be best for you to take your mind off your current predicament, you and your best friend B/F/N decided to go out with an old college friend for a night of bowling. Apparently, he had some clients of his that just arrived in town and invited them out as well. It was always nice to meet new people, so it didn’t faze you one bit. After you and your best friend had finished getting ready, you both hopped into your car and drove to the address that your friend had given you.

Arriving at the place, you and your best friend was slightly alarmed by how upscale the outside of the building was. You didn’t even know there was such a thing as a fancy bowling alley. The fanciest it ever got was some celebrity owning one in their multi-million-dollar home. Although you knew that your old college buddy was working in the music industry, it still bewildered you as to how he got to hang out in such fancy places.

Soon enough, the two you met up with your friend in front of the building and went inside. After your friend spoke with someone at the front desk inside the building, the three of you were escorted to a large, private bowling room complete with expensive leather couches, a karaoke machine, and a fully stocked bar with a bartender waiting to serve.

Mentioning that his clients were going to arrive in a few minutes, he left the room, not before playfully warning your best friend not to get piss-drunk since he was trying to make a good impression. You giggled as your friend stuck out her tongue, ordering a shot of something that would only get her slightly buzzed. You knew she wouldn’t be that reckless with guests around.

While you both waited for you friend to return, you sat on the couch and decided to open your mental link to your soulmate to see what he was up to. As usual, Baekhyun was busy chatting with someone which made you smile slightly. That man was such a social butterfly. It was as if he thrived on conversation for some type of sustenance. If he wasn’t talking to anyone, he made sure he was talking to you.

As you listened carefully, trying to see if you could recognize some words or phrases, you began frowning when unfamiliar words or even large sets of sentences began to make sense. Thinking you had gone crazy for a second, you shook your head and decided to focus on his words once more. Things sounded normal again as you struggled to understand him, but again, his words became crystal clear.

On the verge of panic, you realized that every word that he using made absolute sense to you. You were actually processing the Korean language and if you could understand what Baekhyun was saying…

The door opened, revealing your friend and the clients who he had invited over. You were surprised to see so many people fill into the room and honestly, most of them were goddamn gorgeous. Regardless, your mind was buzzing with so many thoughts about what just happened, you failed to notice your two friends calling you over to be introduced. Even worse, you didn’t see how one the clients gawked at you in astonishment.  

Before your best friend could come over and shake you out of your thoughts, you heard the voice that you had been hearing for years and it wasn’t the usual echoing in your head.

“Y/N?”

You turned your head to the direction of the voice and saw the man that you waited to see for years, taking a step towards you. Everyone looked between the two of you in confusion, gradually causing some to realize what was happening. It was a normal occurrence for many soulmates to meet in mysterious ways, as if the universe was trying push two lovers towards each other.  

You felt tears well up in your eyes as you struggled to say something or anything to him, but all you could do was choke out his name as you began to sob. All this time, you’ve been trying to find a way to talk to him, but once he was in front of you, you were as silent as could be.

“Baekhyun…”

Quickly making his way over to you, Baekhyun pulled you into his tight embrace as he rubbed your back soothingly. You clutched onto him as an indescribable happiness gripped your soul. You had finally found him and all you could do was cry like a baby.

Placing his hands on either side of your face, you looked up at him only to find him smiling softly at you. He was quiet, wiping your tears away with his thumbs as his dark brown eyes took in all of your features. You were a little calmer, tears flowing occasionally as you admired him as well.

It was entirely surreal, just standing there with Baekhyun as if the two of you couldn’t take your eyes off each other. It was like the two of you were in a trance, completely consumed with one another as languages, thoughts, and feelings melded together into one abstract entity. You didn’t know how to describe the moment. It wasn’t like a jigsaw puzzle that finally received its last piece, thus making it complete. It was like a computer being upgraded with better hardware and parts. As if you were a more improved version of yourself, if you could phrase it that way.

“You’re even cuter than I had imagined,” Baekhyun said softly in his language, as he gave you a dazzling smile.

“You can say the same about yourself,” you responded in your own native tongue, returning the sentiment.

“Can someone explain what just happened?” one of Baekhyun’s friends whined, trying to process the weird situation.

“He’s my soulmate,” you announced loudly in Korean, as you faced his friends excitedly.

“What? What are you guys saying?” your best friend asked, puzzled by your newly acquired language.

“We’re soulmates,” Baekhyun replied to your best friend in your language.

You and Baekhyun snickered as your friends struggled with the language barrier, mumbling about how trippy this whole situation was.

Luckily for you and Baekhyun, language was no longer an issue in this relationship.


End file.
